Southern Utah University

Course Syllabus

Southern Utah University
Southern Utah University
Fall Semester 2026

Principles of Assessment Lab (Face-to-Face)

PSY 3435-02

Course: PSY 3435-02
Credits: 1
Term: Fall Semester 2026
Department: Psychology
CRN: 30472

Course Description

In this lab you will perform statistical analyses using SPSS that are common in psychometrics (measures of central tendency and dispersion, correlation and regression analysis, factor analysis, reliability analysis, validity analysis). You will also work in teams to design, conduct and disseminate the results of a measurement-oriented research study. Your team will review the relevant literature, develop a research plan, submit an IRB research proposal, collect data, analyze the data, and present a professional-quality research presentation to your classmates. You will gain skills in data collection software, data management, and survey construction.

Required Texts

Text: “Tests and Measurement for People (Who Think They) Hate Tests and Measurement, 4th Edition; Neil, J. Salkind & Bruce B. Frey. Sage Publications, ISBN: 978-1-0718-1717-9. (2023).

Essential Resources

  • SUU Psychology Student Research Handbook
  • (CITI Certification)
  • SUU Institutional Review Board
  • Portal (SONA)

Learning Outcomes

Southern Utah University Essential Learning Outcomes: This course will address the following Essential Learning Outcomes:

  • Communication
  • Teamwork
  • Quantitative Literacy

You will gain skills in data collection software, data management, and survey construction.

Assessment Table

Course Learning OutcomesSPSS HomeworkProjectPresentation
CommunicationXX
TeamworkXX
Quantitative LiteracyXXX

Course Requirements

Coursework, Grading, and Evaluation: LATE WORK WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED WITHOUT PRIOR APPROVAL

CITI Training:

Since you will be conducting psychological research with human subjects, understanding correct ethical practices is essential. The Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative (CITI) provides training designed to promote ethical research at organizations around the world. You will complete training in ethical research. Review the on the IRB website to ensure you complete the correct training. If you have already done the training for another class, uploading a copy of the completion certificate is sufficient. Please complete this training early in the semester and upload A COPY OF the completion certificate in Canvas.

SPSS Assignments:

Students will complete 6 assignments using SPSS. The assignments will involve entering, organizing, and analyzing data with one of the most powerful and most common statistical packages used in the social sciences. Each assignment can be completed anywhere you can access your student account and have SPSS availability. Each assignment is worth 10 points.

Burros/Mental Measurements Yearbook Assignment: After a brief orientation, you will look up a psychological test measuring something in which you have professional or personal interest and write a summary of the measure. This summary should include an overview of the instrument, the authors, the availability/cost, the posted reliability and validity values, the standardization sample, and any other interesting information.

Qualtrics Assignment: After a brief orientation to Qualtrics, you design, construct, and Publish, and distribute a brief survey to at least 5 people. You will collect and download the data and perform basic statistical analyses as outlined in the assignment description on Canvas. You will upload the URL and the results of your analyses to Canvas for grading.

IRB Proposal Worksheet: Each project group will complete and submit an IRB Worksheet in preparation for submitting your IRB Proposal to the SUU Institutional Review Board for consideration and approval. Research cannot proceed until the IRB approves your project.

Testing, Grading, and Evaluation

LATE WORK WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED WITHOUT PRIOR APPROVAL

SPSS Assignments (6 @ 10 points)60 pts
Qualtrics Assignments10 pts
Burros/MMY Assignment10 pts
CITI Training10 pts
IRB Proposal Worksheet10 pts
TOTAL100
Final Grade Scale
A93-100%
A-90-92%
B+87-89%
B83-86%
B-80-82%
C+77-79%
C73-76%
C-70-72%
D+67-69%
D63-66%
D-60-62%
F00-59%

Course Outline

Deadlines and Tentative Class Schedule

Below is a tentative schedule (As the instructor, I reserve the right to make changes in the following as I see fit. I will give as much notice as possible regarding any changes. Please see Canvas for specific due dates.

Thursday September 3Introduction, Group Formation Research Questionnaires
Thursday, September 10Intro to SUU Data Bases (Library), Buros MMY Assignment IB 002
Thursday, September 17SPSS Introduction: SPSS Homework #1 Part 1
SPSS Activation Code TBA
Thursday, September 24SPSS Homework #1 Part 2 corrections, Part 3 Syntax
Thursday, October 1SPSS Homework #2 Correlation and Regression Lab
Thursday, October 8Reliability Analysis: Homework #3
Thursday, October 15Validity/Factor Analysis: Homework #4
Thursday, October 22IRB/CITI Training Session
Thursday, October 29Data Collection Lab: Qualtrics Introduction Qualtrics Assignment
https://suuhss.co1.qualtrics.com
Qualtrics Access Code: HSSIVYDFJQTFCR
Thursday, November 5Project Planning IRB Proposals IRB Submissions
Thursday, November 12Project Planning/ IRB Proposals IRB Submissions
Thursday, November 19Data Collection/Analysis
Thursday, November 26No Class: Thanksgiving Break
Thursday, December 3Project Data Analysis
Thursday, December 10Project Presentation Preparation and Practice
Thursday, December 17, 3:00-4:50 SECTION 01Final Skills Assessment
Monday, December 14, 5:00-6:50
SECTION 02
Final Skills Assessment

Instructor's policies on late assignments and/or makeup work

LATE WORK WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED WITHOUT PRIOR APPROVAL

Attendance Policy

Lab attendance is a graded course activity. You are allowed 3 grace absences, then for each absence for which you have not made arrangements with the instructor will result in a reduction in points. 

Course Fees

To my knowledge there are no fees associated with this specific course. 

Additional Course Policies and Information

Lab Information

Lab outlines are in Canvas. I recommend that you download and review each outline before each lab.

Statement on Generative AI

Human thinking generated all content in this course. All grading and evaluation is human work. I have similar expectations of students. Within this course, all submitted assignments should be written, developed, created, or inspired by you. If any unauthorized work is created by artificial intelligence (AI) it will be considered plagiarized work and a violation of . This could result in a failing grade to disciplinary action through the Dean of Students’ Office. AI is an evolving technology and will impact our academic, professional, and personal lives. It is important that as part of your education, you learn to critically think, create, and evaluate products/assignments.”

“Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools, such as ChatGPT and BingAI, are not allowed to be used in this class without explicit permission. Although the use of these types of tools may be allowed in other classes or are used professionally, this class will focus on learning foundations without the aid of generative AI. Any perceived use of generative AI will be investigated for possible submission to the university as cheating

Additional Information

Course Feedback: Student will be invited to evaluate the course and teacher using the SUU Student Feedback Form. Your feedback is appreciated and utilized to adjust future sections of this course.

There may be money available to help students with research expenses via grants offered through the College of Humanities and Social Sciences

Students may want to visit the . Please contact the Center at 586-5452 Help is available to improve public speaking and overcoming speech anxiety.

The College of Humanities and Social Sciences has a site license for the survey software program Qualtrics. The link below takes you to a page where you can get started using the system.

https://suuhss.us.qualtrics.com/ControlPanel/

Prerequisites and Co-Requisites

Prerequisites: PSY 1010 & PSY 3010, Co-Requisite: 3430-01

Prerequisites: PSY 1010 & PSY 3010, Co-Requisite: 3430-02

ADA Statement

Students with medical, psychological, learning, or other disabilities desiring academic adjustments, accommodations, or auxiliary aids will need to contact the Disability Resource Center, located in Room 206F of the Sharwan Smith Center or by phone at (435) 865-8042. The Disability Resource Center determines eligibility for and authorizes the provision of services.

If your instructor requires attendance, you may need to seek an ADA accommodation to request an exception to this attendance policy. Please contact the Disability Resource Center to determine what, if any, ADA accommodations are reasonable and appropriate.

Academic Credit

According to the federal definition of a Carnegie credit hour: A credit hour of work is the equivalent of approximately 60 minutes of class time or independent study work. A minimum of 45 hours of work by each student is required for each unit of credit. Credit is earned only when course requirements are met. One (1) credit hour is equivalent to 15 contact hours of lecture, discussion, testing, evaluation, or seminar, as well as 30 hours of student homework. An equivalent amount of work is expected for laboratory work, internships, practica, studio, and other academic work leading to the awarding of credit hours. Credit granted for individual courses, labs, or studio classes ranges from 0.5 to 15 credit hours per semester.

Academic Freedom

SUU is operated for the common good of the greater community it serves. The common good depends upon the free search for truth and its free exposition. Academic Freedom is the right of faculty to study, discuss, investigate, teach, and publish. Academic Freedom is essential to these purposes and applies to both teaching and research.

Academic Freedom in the realm of teaching is fundamental for the protection of the rights of the faculty member and of you, the student, with respect to the free pursuit of learning and discovery. Faculty members possess the right to full freedom in the classroom in discussing their subjects. They may present any controversial material relevant to their courses and their intended learning outcomes, but they shall take care not to introduce into their teaching controversial materials which have no relation to the subject being taught or the intended learning outcomes for the course.

As such, students enrolled in any course at SUU may encounter topics, perspectives, and ideas that are unfamiliar or controversial, with the educational intent of providing a meaningful learning environment that fosters your growth and development. These parameters related to Academic Freedom are included in SUU Policy 6.6.

Academic Misconduct

Scholastic honesty is expected of all students. Dishonesty will not be tolerated and will be prosecuted to the fullest extent (see SUU Policy 6.33). You are expected to have read and understood the current SUU student conduct code (SUU Policy 11.2) regarding student responsibilities and rights, the intellectual property policy (SUU Policy 5.52), information about procedures, and what constitutes acceptable behavior.

Please Note: The use of websites or services that sell essays is a violation of these policies; likewise, the use of websites or services that provide answers to assignments, quizzes, or tests is also a violation of these policies. Regarding the use of Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI), you should check with your individual course instructor.

Emergency Management Statement

In case of an emergency, the University's Emergency Notification System (ENS) will be activated. Students are encouraged to maintain updated contact information using the link on the homepage of the mySUU portal. In addition, students are encouraged to familiarize themselves with the Emergency Response Protocols posted in each classroom. Detailed information about the University's emergency management plan can be found at https://www.suu.edu/emergency.

HEOA Compliance Statement

For a full set of Higher Education Opportunity Act (HEOA) compliance statements, please visit https://www.suu.edu/heoa. The sharing of copyrighted material through peer-to-peer (P2P) file sharing, except as provided under U.S. copyright law, is prohibited by law; additional information can be found at https://my.suu.edu/help/article/1096/heoa-compliance-plan.

You are also expected to comply with policies regarding intellectual property (SUU Policy 5.52) and copyright (SUU Policy 5.54).

Mandatory Reporting

University policy (SUU Policy 5.60) requires instructors to report disclosures received from students that indicate they have been subjected to sexual misconduct/harassment. The University defines sexual harassment consistent with Federal Regulations (34 C.F.R. Part 106, Subpart D) to include quid pro quo, hostile environment harassment, sexual assault, dating violence, domestic violence, and stalking. When students communicate this information to an instructor in-person, by email, or within writing assignments, the instructor will report that to the Title IX Coordinator to ensure students receive support from the Title IX Office. A reporting form is available at https://cm.maxient.com/reportingform.php?SouthernUtahUniv

Non-Discrimination Statement

SUU is committed to fostering an inclusive community of lifelong learners and believes our university's encompassing of different views, beliefs, and identities makes us stronger, more innovative, and better prepared for the global society.

SUU does not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, citizenship, sex (including sex discrimination and sexual harassment), sexual orientation, gender identity, age, ancestry, disability status, pregnancy, pregnancy-related conditions, genetic information, military status, veteran status, or other bases protected by applicable law in employment, treatment, admission, access to educational programs and activities, or other University benefits or services.

SUU strives to cultivate a campus environment that encourages freedom of expression from diverse viewpoints. We encourage all to dialogue within a spirit of respect, civility, and decency.

For additional information on non-discrimination, please see SUU Policy 5.27 and/or visit https://www.suu.edu/nondiscrimination.

Pregnancy

Students who are or become pregnant during this course may receive reasonable modifications to facilitate continued access and participation in the course. Pregnancy and related conditions are broadly defined to include pregnancy, childbirth, termination of pregnancy, lactation, related medical conditions, and recovery. To obtain reasonable modifications, please make a request to title9@suu.edu. To learn more visit: https://www.suu.edu/titleix/pregnancy.html.

Religious / Conscience Belief Accommodation

RELIGIOUS / CONSCIENCE BELIEF ACCOMMODATION: In accordance with SUU Policy 6.7 Student Belief Accommodation, students may request, in writing, that their faculty accommodate their sincerely held religious or conscience beliefs. Students should provide their faculty with sufficient advanced notice, if possible within the first five (5) business days of the semester or session, or thereafter with good cause for requesting an accommodation after the first five (5) business days.

Faculty must provide a schedule accommodation or excuse an absence, in any course, for students to observe or participate in religious holidays or an organized activity conducted under the auspices of the student’s religious tradition or religious organization.

In courses that are required for graduation or for an academic major, a faculty member may accommodate a religious or conscience belief by modifying an assignment or examination if its content conflicts with the student’s belief. Faculty may decline the accommodation if it would fundamentally alter the course requirements. If declined, the student may request review by a neutral arbiter using the Belief Accommodation Request Form: https://cm.maxient.com/reportingform.php?SouthernUtahUniv&layout_id=5

Questions go to Assistant Provost Jake Johnson at johnsonj@suu.edu.

Disclaimer Statement

Information contained in this syllabus, other than the grading, late assignments, makeup work, and attendance policies, may be subject to change with advance notice, as deemed appropriate by the instructor.